Thanks Parkview Parents!!

Thankyou!! Thankyou!! Thankyou!!
I've been so blessed by an outpouring of needed art supplies from the parents at Parkview. Every time I go to my mailbox at school it is literally stuffed with yarn, magazines, buttons, and other odds and ends. I just wanted you to know that we have been using them like crazy, and that it is truly appreciated!
Here is an example of how the fifth and sixth graders used the donated magazines, and be looking for a future post on our weaving project (with the yarn) that we're working on right now, you won't wanna miss it.

This was an excercise in getting the kids to keep their eye on what they're drawing. Kids of every age tend to look at the subject once every five minutes or so, but the goal is to get them to look every 2-3 seconds. When we don't keep looking, our minds memorize and simplify the drawing, and then we loose all the details. It's funny, you can put roses in the front of the room, and half the class will come up with a drawing of daisies, because they're not really looking. So we try to practice this as much as we can. Looking at this example you can see, that practice is paying off!

Sweet Little Blue Birds!

I was thinking it had been a while since the kindergarteners had had a painting project, and they've definetely earned one. So we did a drawing of a bird, and then painted it together. They did so great! I can't believe how far they've come this year! Super respectful with the supplies, and believe it or not, they are great at the cleaning up too!

Clay, oh my what was I thinking?

Theses words crossed my mind only about one hundred times a day, while the 2-4 grades worked on their clay projects. It was worth it though! I told the kids if they could be good for 4 weeks they could do a clay sculpture project, and of course they earned it! I'm sure you have seen all the fruits of their labors by now, but here are some highlights!

First week we made the clay, and formed our sculptures. Our theme was Spring/Easter, and they were meant to be a gift for someone. (And if you're wondering about the Titanic, it actually sunk in the Spring, so it counted as a spring thing:)

Second Week we painted our sculptures,

Third week, we learned to draw a bunny and other Easter/Spring themed pictures. And decorated a gift bag.

For those of you who are interested here is the clay recipe.

1 C Flour
1/2 C Salt
1/2 C Warm Water

You can either let it dry for a week like we did, or put it in the oven on 200 degrees for 3 hours. Paint with acrylics, or tempera.

Ribbit, Ribbit

The Kindergarteners and First Graders learned to draw frogs a little while ago, they were so, so cute. Again, they all had the same instruction and not one of them turned out the same! From this project, we learned new line angles, new eye shapes, and talked a little about drawing lines to show action (") Most children then chose to put their frog in a lanscape drawing, and showed depth by making smaller frogs that looked farther away.  Fun, and perfect to ring in Spring!

New Wallpaper!

There are many advantages to having your classroom in a basement. It's big, it's nice and cool, you don't need to worry about bugging another classroom with all the fun art noises.
But my friends, the downsides are; the exposed duct work, plumbing pipes, and the dreary walls. So we've tried our best this year to spruce up the space, and make it into an inspiring place everybody wants to be.
Our latest decorating indeaver came while we  journeyed into the world of "Non-Objective Art."
We learned that Abstract art must be, well, abstracted from something! So even if it's a triangle on a page, if it's meant to be a ship sailing the ocean, then it's an Abstract.  Non-objective, is like the work of Jackson Pollack. It's not meant to represent anything! Pollack, as well as many Non-Objective artists, believe that the "actions" it takes to create the art, is the actual art, and that what's left behind on the canvas is just evidence of those actions.
We worked in groups of 4 on our large prints, and they can be seen adorning the walls downstairs as wallpaper!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Personalize a free picture slideshow

Thanks to Mrs. Reynolds putting our blog in the Monday Messages, word has quickly spread around about our art blog! And more and more kids are asking if they can get their art work "on the internet, so they can be famous!" So here's my solution, a slideshow.
We had a great time learning to draw The Cat In The Hat! So from K-3rd. This one's for you!!

Mrs Montoya's so proud
As proud as can be.
If Dr. Seuss were here
He'd be jumping, with glee!

Your cats were so special
Your cats were so cool
Your cats should be hanging up
All over the School!!

But, alas they're with you
Safely snug at home
I'll miss them a lot
Now I'm done with my poem


.....okay, I'll stick with art :)

Happy Valentines Day!

The fourth grade classes were able to make these really cool 3-d pop up cards on Valentines Week.  Congratulations if you were lucky enough to recieve one of these! They were sure made with a lot of love!

THIS is where the wild things are!

This project goes back a little ways, but it on my top 5 favorite things we've done so far! We learned so much from this project, and were able to incorporate several concepts that we had previously learned. It was just a great conglomeration of learning and fun! It was our first "find the shapes" drawing. Teaching that if you don't know how to draw something, look first for the shapes you already do know how to draw, put them together, and just look what you've made! We incorporated our expressive lines, and it was our first watercolor lesson. Wow, we've come a long way since then, but these are just awesome to look at!

Takin' a crack at Cubism

The older kids got a chance to learn a little bit about Picasso, and his most famous kind of art, called Cubism. A very important aspect of Cubism is that the artist wishes to give the viewer more then one view of the art, at once. Like the picture above for example has a profile view mouth, but full front facing eyes. 

So we decided to try our hands at Cubism. First we drew a face that had a side, and front view. Then we drew 3 large shapes over that face, and to practice our shading, we shaded in each small shape we created with different shades, and no 2 shades could touch each other. It took 2 class periods, but it was worth it! there were some really cool results! They're strange and awesome at the same time...Just like a Picasso!

Marble Paintings!

Sometimes you do a project, just for the fun of it, and this was one of those times! We gathered a bunch of box lids, taped some paper inside, dipped a marble in paint, and let the good times roll! I think these kids have a future in abstract art! And I'll be able to say I knew them when...

Landscape....Horizon....Perspective, Oh My!

So, I had this crazy idea to teach the young kids about landscape paintings, Horizon lines, and perspective. I just knew that if I taught it right they could get it! After all we've seen this through our eyes everyday since we were born. Objects recede into the horizon, things get small the farther they get away from us, and they loose detail the farther away they get.
Not only did they understand it, but they took it and soared. You know how they say swimming comes naturally to babies, just throw them in the pool? Well, I don't know about that, but, new art concepts just click with these young kids almost like they already know it, they just need the vocabulary to put it with. The older they are, the more they struggle with this idea of perspective. It was really neat to witness it!

Where's Gerald?

So we finished our Giraffes a few weeks ago. They were so awesome, and it felt like I was letting go of my own children once they were finished! I loved how each one of them turned out different, with their own sweet personality!

Well since then, It has been my pleasure to hear reports of these little guys sprinkled throughout the community! From the Hospital to the Library to the High School, and even framed in the district office! It's just awesome to see how much everyone loves them as much as we do! And I'm such a huge fan of those who are supporting these kids, and all their hard work, and allowing them to showcase their talents!